This course will enable students to understand the technology that underlies the
World Wide Web and provide them with the skills needed to effectively use this
new medium. The course introduces techniques for creating hypermedia documents
on the web. Students will learn the basics of HTML, the formatting language used
to author World Wide Web documents, and a subset of Java, a language that can be
used to add interactive elements to web pages. The technology that makes the Web
possible is developing as rapidly as its use is growing. New facilities are
introduced frequently. Web "standards" are evolving in several directions
simultaneously as vendors introduce competing proposals. Accordingly, rather
than simply learning how to use the Web as it is today, we will also examine the
fundamental technologies that make the Web possible. These include digital
encoding techniques, computer network organization, communication protocols and
encryption systems. This material will leave students prepared to understand
future possibilities for, and obstacles to, the development of the Internet.
Format: lecture/laboratory. Evaluation will be based on homework, laboratory
work and examinations. 55% of a student's final grade will be determined by
performance on examinations.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 100/101/102 (or demonstrating proficiency in the
Quantitative Studies diagnostic test-see catalog under Mathematics). This course
is not open to students who have successfully completed a Computer Science
course numbered 136 or above. Enrollment limit: 60 (expected: 40).